Vehicle parking lift platform with simultaneously movable dollies



Oct. 12, 1965 SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVABLE DOLLIES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 27. 1964 fi b fi l K l I Illl l I Ill Ju Q INVENTOR.

E n m l III w u C #N N 6 Y m B Oct. 12, 1965 E. G. BIANCA 3,211,302

VEHICLE PARKING LIFT PLATFORM WITH SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVABLE DOLLIES Flled Feb 27 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 &\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\x\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ s a A Oct. 12, 1965 E. G. BIANCA 3,211,302

VEHICLE PARKING LIFT PLATFORM WITH SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVABLE DOLLIES Filed Feb. 27, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent 3,211,302 VEHICLE PARKING LIFT PLATFORM WITH SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVABLE DOLLIES Edoardo Giuseppe Bianca, Rosenweg 11, Zollikon, Switzerland Filed Feb. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 347,895 Claims priority, application Austria, Feb. 28, 1963, A 1,607/63 Claims. (Cl. 21416.1)

The present invention relates to a lift arrangement, especially for the conveying of vehicles to and from the parking spaces in mechanical garages. Known arrangements of this kind consist as a rule of two opposite building sections arranged side by side and one above the other and containing open cells on the building sides facing one another, a horizontally and vertically movable lift installation being provided in the space between the two wings of the building. This installation moves the vehicles in each case between an entry position and a cell or between the cell and an exit position. The lift cabin may be provided with a mechanical vehicle-shifting device which, possibly fully automatically, effects the movement of the vehicles from the cabin and into the cabin of the lift. The lift installation can also be formed as a standing or suspended, laterally displaceable tower, which contains the vertical lift. These installations however are limited in their capacity, since they permit a turnover figure of only 60 vehicles per hour at the maximum. This limits the number of the parking spaces to be operated by a conveying installation to about 80 to 120. On the other hand the number of stories of the building wings in practice will not exceed twelve, in view of the construction and weight of the lift installation. If for reasons of space utilisation one is compelled to exceed this number of stories, only vertically movable lifts are advantageously used. This construction, which serves only two vehicle spaces per story, is economical however only as from a number of stories from 40 upwards.

Lift installations are known in which there is provided a lifting platform running in stationary guides, with a bogie or dolly serving as transversely mobile under-carriage, which can serve a plurality of vertical rows of vehicle spaces on each side.

However these installations comprise only one single transversely mobile bogie per lifting platform, and thence a number of technical problems arise as a result of the eccentricity of the considerable weights of bogie with drive, gripper carriage and vehicle, which have lead to the indicated solutions and render a platform practically possible for example for width up to three parking spaces.

It is a purpose of the present invention to provide an installation with which a larger number of horizontal rows, namely 4 to 6, of vehicle spaces can be served, without the use of a lift arrangement movable horizontally as a whole, so that the advantages of the stationarily guided lifting platform can be achieved even with lower constructional heights.

The lift arrangement according to the invention, especially for mechanical garages, is characterised in that on the lifting platform there are arranged two bogies mobile transversely of the longitudinal axis of the vehicles to be parked, which bogies are movable simultaneously and in opposite directions in each case, the transverse conveying distance of each bogie preferably extending over at least two vertical rows of parking spaces. The two transversely mobile bogies can receive either the vehicle directly or, in the case of fully mechanical charging, the transferring carriage (gripper carriage) also, they are moved simultaneously in opposite directions in order to direct them to the desired parking spaces, so that in each case the vehicle spaces corresponding to the outermost, middle or innermost position are connected and utilised simultaneously on each platform half. The entire lifting platform is expediently divided into two half sections by the vertical cabin frame.

The oppositely synchronous co-ordination of the movements of the two transversely mobile bogies can be carried out mechanically or electrically. In the case of mechanical co-ordination two cable or chain circuits can be provided for example corresponding to the ends of the two transversely mobile bogies, which circuits extend over the entire width of the platform, each of the two transversely mobile bogies being in each case secured to the opposite run. The drive assembly of the transversely mobile bogies can here be connected to the circulation chains or cables. In the case of electrical control individual drive systems can be provided for the drive of the two transversely mobile bogies.

The invention will now be further explained hereinafter with reference to examples of embodiment thereof which are represented in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 shows a lateral elevation of the lifting platform with the two bogies and two vehicles,

FIGURE 2 shows a cable circuit with drive,

FIGURE 3 shows a chain circuit with drive,

FIGURE 4 shows a plan view of the lifting platform with the two bogies and two cable circuits,

FIGURE 5 shows an overall arrangement in plan view and FIGURE 6 shows a lateral elevation of the overall arrangement.

In the drawings, in FIGURE 1 there is shown the lifting platform 1 which is secured through a suspension attachment on the middle frame 23, which is guided in stationary guides 2. 3 and 4 are the transversely mobile bogies which carry the gripper carriages 10, 11 and the vehicles 6, 7, in the one (outer) position. 3', 4 are the corresponding inner positions (represented in chain lines). A middle position (not shown) would also be used more advantageously in this position, namely for the entry and exit position. FIGURES 2 and 3 show a cable circuit and chain circuit respectively, with cable 12, chain 13 which are reversed over wheels at the end and driven by way of the cable drum 14 or chain wheel 15 through the spindle 17 by the drive assembly 16 (FIGURE 4). The driven means 8, 9 of the bogies 3, 4, which are secured to opposite runs, transmit the drive thereto and at the same time ensure the exact parallel guidance of the bogies.

FIGURE 4 shows in plan view the lifting platform 1 with the middle frame 23, running in the guides 2. The platform comprises the cable circuits as shown in FIG- URE 2 with drive and the bogies 3, 4, and their second position 3', 4'. There are also the cell floors 66, 67.

FIGURES 5 and 6 show in overall arrangement the lifting platform 1 in the shaft 19 with (in this example) a total of 8 parking spaces 66a, 66a, 77a, 77a, 66b, 66b, 77b, 77b pertaining thereto, corresponding to 4 vertical rows of parking spaces. The middle frame 23 is suspended on two reversing pulleys 22-22 on the cable 20, balanced by the counterweight 18 over two reversing pulleys 23 and is raised and lowered by the drive pulley 21. The vehicle 6 rests on the bogie 3, which is shifted by means of wheels 5 on the rails of the platform 1.

What I claim is:

1. In an improved parking garage system for storage of motor vehicles, the combination comprising a building structure including a plurality of parking stalls, perpendicularly disposed spacedly arranged guide rails in said structure, a horizontally disposed lift platform having parallel laterally extending rails thereon, said platform being provided with coplanar sections each of which is equal to the width of at least two vehicles adapted to traverse said guide rails and with said guide rails being positioned between said coplanar sections, a dolly mounted on each section and arranged to travel the width thereof, a longitudinally movable transfer carriage positioned on each dolly for shifting vehicles between the platform and the parking stall, means for raising and lowering the platform within the structure, and drive means to interconnect the dollies for moving the same simultaneously toward and away from each other so that said dollies are always equidistant from the center line of the platform to thereby counterbalance each other on the platform.

2. In an improved parking garage system for storage of motor vehicles as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said dollies are provided with means extending normally thereof which are associated with the means for simultaneously traversing the same forward and away from each other.

3. In an improved parking garage system for storage of motor vehicles as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for simultaneously traversing the dollies toward and away from each other comprises a chain and sprocket drive means, said chain traversing a path about sprockets mounted beneath each of the sections of said platform.

4. In an improved parking garage system for storage of motor vehicles as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for simultaneously traversing the dollies toward and away from each other comprises a cable and pulley drive means, said cable traversing a path about pulleys mounted beneath each of the sections of said platform.

5. In an improved parking garage system for storage of motor vehicles as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means for raising and lowering the sections of the platform comprise a control means interposed between the spaced sections of said platform.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,973,605 9/34 Buettell et al 21416.l4 X 1,988,619 1/35 Buettell.

2,815,133 12/57 Asheim et 3.1.

2,963,180 12/ 60 Sanders.

3,092,267 6/63 Shutt.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN AN IMPROVED PARKING GARAGE SYSTEM FOR STORAGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A BUILDING STRUCTURE INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF PARKING STALLS, PERPENDICULARLY DISPOSED SPACEDLY ARRANGED GUIDE RAILS IN SAID STRUCTURE, A HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED LIFT PLATFORM HAVING PARALLEL LATERALLY EXTENDING RAILS THEREON, SAID PLATFORM BEING PROVIDED WITH COPLANAR SECTIONS EACH OF WHICH IS EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF AT LEAST TWO VEHICLES ADAPTED TO TRAVERSE SAID GUIDE RAILS AND WITH SAID GUIDE RAILS BEING POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID COPLANAR SECTIONS, A DOLLY MOUNTED ON EACH SECTION AND ARRANGED TO TRAVEL THE WIDTH THEREOF, A LONGITUDINALLY MOVABLE TRANSFER CARRIAGE POSITIONED ON EACH DOLLY FOR SHIFTING VEHICLES BETWEEN THE PLATFORM AND THE PACKING STALL, MEANS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING THE PLATFORM WITHIN THE STRUSTURE, AND DRIVE MEANS TO INTERCONNECT THE DOLLIES FOR MOVING THE SAME SIMULTANEOUSLY TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHER SO THAT SAID DOLLIES ALWAYS EQUIDISTANT FROM THE CENTER LINE OF THE PLATFORM TO THEREBY COUNTERBALANCE EACH OTHER ON THE PLATFORM. 